A Lovely Night Together
by charleybec
Summary: Maria and Georg spend some time together following their declaration of love at the gazebo.


_**Disclaimer: I do not own The Sound of Music or any of its characters**_

"Quickly," Maria said as she grabbed Georg's hand and pulled him towards the house. The first drops of rain had just started to fall and she wanted to get back to the house before they got too wet. As she was pulling his hand, he had no choice but to run after her. Luckily they made it inside just as it started to pour down.

She shook the few drops of rain from her hair and she turned to him laughing, "Well, we didn't get too wet did we?"

"No, thankfully", he replied, laughing too. He gazed down at her, noting that she was still somewhat out of breath from the mad dash into the house. She was smiling and her eyes shone with happiness. So different from when he had looked into her eyes just several hours earlier when she had returned to the villa. Those eyes that had told him in a single word how she had felt. _Heartbroken_. But now, her eyes were so full of life.

"I love your smile," Georg told her "you light up when you smile."

Slightly embarrassed by his comment, as she was unused to having someone compliment her like that, Maria cast her eyes downwards, trying to hide yet another blush. Georg reached forward and placed one finger under her chin and lifted her face gently so she was looking again at him. He found it hard to resist the urge to take her in his arms and kiss her again.

Only a short while earlier that evening before the rain started, they had been together in the gazebo. Georg had finally told Maria that he loved her. They had kissed for the first time and he had asked Maria to be his wife. Happily, she had accepted without hesitation. They continued to share some more passionate kisses in the moonlight before deciding to go for a walk in the grounds of the villa. However, they had only been walking a short time when the rain started.

Georg decided that it would probably be best not to kiss her again where they were, since they were standing in the middle of the grand foyer of the villa and he wasn't sure which members of the household staff were still likely to be awake and he didn't want to be interrupted. Just as he was about to suggest they move to somewhere more private, Maria shivered.

Concerned, Georg asked her, "Are you cold, my love?"

"Only a little, I'm alright really." Maria answered.

"Nonsense, come with me, I have just the thing to warm you up!" Georg held out his hand for Maria to take and he led her down into the kitchen and motioned for her to sit down at the kitchen table.

"Captain," she asked "what are we doing in here?"

"Do you like hot cocoa Maria?" he asked, "and please, do call me Georg."

Maria laughed, "I guess it would seem silly for me to continue calling you Captain, and yes, I do like hot cocoa" she paused before softly adding "…Georg." It felt a bit foreign but at the same time, felt so right calling him by his first name.

"Good!" Georg exclaimed and he started to search the many cupboards for a pot to warm up the milk.

"So…." Maria began, "where on earth did you learn to make hot cocoa?"

"You seem surprised?"

"A little" she admitted, "I guess there is still so much to learn about you."

He stopped what he was doing and smiled at her. "There'll be lots of time for that, darling. Actually, this is a very famous recipe for hot cocoa from way back in my early days in the navy. Bunch of the men and I were on a two-day leave in Paris and we had gone to a little club called Chez Luis. Well, they had the most amazing assortment of things on offer on the menu including this hot cocoa. It then became a favourite amongst the men after that. I'm afraid I haven't made it in years though."

"Oh Paris," she gasped, "how wonderful. I've always wanted to go there! Have you been there many times?"

"A few," he replied "Although not for some time. I do enjoy it there. Such a fascinating city and so much to see and do, not to mention the food is spectacular!" He made a mental note to take her there sometime in the future, possibly for their honeymoon, he thought.

"Now, cups, cups, cups…." He muttered to himself, searching through the many cupboards in the kitchen. Maria was amused to watch him bumbling around the kitchen, trying to impress her with his culinary skills while it was clear that he hadn't been in the kitchen for some time.

"Last cupboard on the right, top shelf." Maria suggested helpfully.

"Ah, yes, thank you", said Georg as he found the cups "obviously someone moved them since I was last in here."

"Yes, obviously," replied Maria, trying to hide a giggle at Georg's attempt to disguise the fact that he had no clue where anything was in the kitchen.

As Georg continued to prepare their drinks, Maria started thinking about all that had transpired that day. From her time at the abbey in solitude that morning, to her conversation with the Reverend Mother leading to her return to the villa. She thought about the moment when she learned that Georg was going to marry the Baroness. How quickly things had changed, even just in the last hour as she went from being heartbroken at that moment of discovery, to complete elation when Georg had found her at the gazebo, declaring his love for her and proposing marriage.

Georg looked up to see Maria deep in thought. She was gazing at him with an expression that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Contemplation? Happiness? He wasn't sure.

"Why do you stare that way at me?" he asked.

Reminded of the last time Georg has asked that question of her on her very first day at the villa, she gave out a small laugh as she thought about how things had changed between them since that day.

"Oh, I was just thinking" she confessed "that if someone had told me this morning that this is where I would be and what I would be doing tonight, well… I just wouldn't have believed it."

"What, here in the kitchen with me?" Georg asked innocently.

Laughing, she replied, "Well, yes that, but really, being here with you at all, and especially knowing that you love me and we are going to be married."

"Hmm, yes well, I guess the same applies to me. This morning you were gone and everything was just wrong…"

Georg paused as he reflected upon his broken engagement to the Baroness. While he knew in his heart that he had made the right choice by breaking his engagement to Elsa as he was deeply in love with Maria, he still did feel a pang of guilt knowing that he had probably hurt Elsa quite deeply, despite her declaration that Georg was not the man for her.

"… and now" Georg continued, smiling at Maria "everything is just right now you are with me."

Georg finished preparing the hot cocoa and sat down with Maria at the table to have their drinks. Maria eagerly took a large sip of the drink, knowing that it was a favourite recipe of Georg's. Practically as soon as Maria took the first mouthful, she nearly gagged! It was revolting, almost the worst thing she had ever tasted! She tried her best to swallow it and hide the grimace that she was sure was on her face.

Georg studied her carefully as he finished his first mouthful, watching for her reaction.

"Ah…. That was…. ah…" Maria started to say.

"Awful, disgusting, revolting?" Georg finished her sentence as he took the almost full cup from her hands and tipped the remaining foul liquid down the sink.

Astonished at his admission, she stammered "Well… yes! I'm sorry Georg, but it was really bad. What happened to your 'special' recipe?"

"I'm not sure actually", he confessed. "Maybe it needed that shot of 20 year old brandy that they used to do at Chez Luis to set it on its feet. Actually, come to think of it, that WAS the secret ingredient!"

Maria laughed. "Well, why don't you sit down and I'll make you a fresh cup."

Georg gladly let her take over and watched her expertly heating the milk and preparing the drinks.

"Ah, I see you have done this before!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, once or twice!" Maria giggled. "You may be surprised to know that the children and I come down here almost every night to have hot cocoa before bed."

"What?" Georg exclaimed in mock outrage. "You mean to tell me that MY children have been roaming around this house at night, just to have hot cocoa?"

"Hmm, hmm," she answered wickedly, "and having a marvelous time!" They both laughed at this, remembering their argument by the lake.

"Actually, it helps settle them down at night." Maria continued, "The only problem is that they all like it made different ways. It took me a while to remember all their orders".

"Oh?"

"Yes, well for example, Liesl likes hers with no sugar and very little milk. Marta likes to have pink marshmallows on the side and Kurt has 3 sugars, extra cream along with marshmallows and sprinkles on top!"

Georg roared with laughter. "Well, that DOES sound like Kurt!"

She laughed too. Georg then looked at her questionably.

"So… how are you making mine then?"

"Well, just like I like it, with just a spoonful of sugar". He smiled at her as she handed him the drink.

He took a sip. "Mmm, much better! Now, maybe we can go somewhere, ah, more comfortable?"

Maria nodded and followed him out the door and down a corridor that she had never been down before. He unlocked and opened the door at the end and she realized that she was in his study.

"Oh," she said, "I'd always wondered that was down here."

Surprised, Georg turned to her as he closed the door behind them and asked, "So you never wandered down here out of, ah… curiosity?"

"Well, you did say that there were rooms in this house that were not to be disturbed, and well, I do listen sometimes." Maria shrugged.

"Well, no one comes in here with the exception of course of Frau Schmidt, oh and Max – I don't think I could keep him out of here, even if I tried!" he laughed. "But you, Maria, are welcome any time" he concluded seriously.

Georg had been very protective of who had access to study since Agathe had died. Even Elsa had not ever been in there, as it somehow never seemed right to allow her in there. But he felt that he wanted to share this place with Maria now.

Realizing the implication of his words to how special she was; Maria didn't know quite what to say. Therefore she decided to have a look around the room that was Georg's sanctuary. On one side of the room there was a large desk in front of the windows and next to it was a leather lounge. The other side of the room contained several tall bookcases filled with books, everything from classical literature, to poetry, to military history and tactics, to encyclopedias. As Maria started to wander about the room, Georg went over to the gramophone on the next to the lounge and put on some soft music. He turned back to watch Maria as she was inspecting the books on the bookcase.

Amazed at the quantity of books she asked him, "Have you read all of these?"

"Most of them," he replied smiling "although some are more interesting than others."

After continuing to examine the many book titles in the bookcase, Maria wandered over towards the window where behind the desk was a low line bureau with several photo frames on top. She gravitated almost instantly towards them to take a closer look before remembering Georg who was watching her.

"May I?" she asked him, gesturing towards the photographs.

"Of course," he replied.

There were many photographs of the children ranging from when they were very young, to the present. As she looked at each one, Georg told her about them, about when they were taken and any funny little story that went along with each photograph. Maria enjoyed seeing each child as a baby and watching them grow through the photographs. It occurred to her seeing those photographs that Georg, in his own way, had always had kept each of his children close to his heart even when it had appeared during those first few weeks at the villa that he was shutting them out. She realized that there was still so much still to learn about this man who would become her husband soon. She knew that as she learnt more and more about him, that her love for him would continue to grow.

Just as Maria was about to move away from the bureau, something caught her eye at the end of the row of photographs. It was very small, only slightly bigger than the size of two postage stamps. She moved towards it, picked it up and examined it. Astonished with what she saw, she turned to Georg.

"What? How did you get this…?"

In her hands was a tiny photograph, not in a frame, of all of the seven children together with Maria in the center. They were all looking at her laughing. It appeared that it was taken without any of their knowledge. Georg moved closer to her and took the small photograph out of her hands.

"Well…" he started, "Remember a week before the party I had that photographer come to take photographs of the children? Well, he returned the other day with all the proofs for me to look through to choose which ones I wanted. Anyway, in amongst the photographs of the children was this. I think he was setting up the shot, working out lighting and composition and so forth and perhaps the shutter was clicked by mistake. You all looked so happy and something about this photograph just captivated me and before I knew it, I had smuggled it out of the pile of proofs and I kept it." He looked at her a little sheepishly.

"At the time, I didn't know why, but now I do." He added quietly. For a moment, Maria caught her breath as Georg moved closer towards her and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"I love you," he whispered. Maria gazed into his eyes and saw the love for her that he had just declared reflected in those eyes.

"I love you too," she replied, feeling her heart beat so wildly, she thought it would leap out of her chest. Georg tenderly stroked her cheek before giving her another soft kiss upon her lips.

At just that moment, the record on the gramophone clicked off. Giving her a half almost apologetic smile, Georg left where they were standing together to put on another record. Maria tried to compose herself as her heart was still racing after the tender kisses that she and Georg had just shared. As she tried to slow her breathing down, she turned in the opposite direction to where she had been standing and found herself facing Georg's desk. There, sitting in the center of the desk in pride of place, was a very large frame with a photograph of a very beautiful woman with the same colour hair as Louisa but with the same eyes as Liesl.

Without thinking, Maria picked it up and started to ask, "Is that…"

"Agathe." Georg finished her question, walking back over to her from the other side of the room. "Yes, that was taken just shortly after we were married."

Maria continued to study the photograph. "Oh, she was very beautiful!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, she was." Georg agreed quietly.

Maria paused and looked at him. For just a moment she saw a mixture of sorrow and grief in his eyes, then it was gone. She looked back at the photograph, not quite sure where to proceed from there. Maria was not sure whether Georg would want to talk about his late wife and she suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

"You know, Georg, I never told you how sorry I was about her passing." Maria finally told him quietly.

"Thank you Maria." He replied sincerely, touched that Maria would tell him that.

There was an awkward silence between them for some moments before Georg approached her, taking the photograph from her hands.

"Maybe I should find somewhere more appropriate for this" he said quietly.

Realizing that he was implying that he would put Agathe's photograph away out of sight now he was to marry her, Maria stopped him.

"No, Georg," she told him "She was your wife, a part of your life and the children's mother. I don't want you to hide that. The last thing I want the children to feel as if I'm replacing their mother or having her memory locked away or forgotten."

"Thank you Maria," replied Georg "but are you sure? Yes, Agathe was a big part of my life and I miss her dreadfully, but she is gone and I've finally accepted that. I now want to move on with my life with you. I don't want her memory causing a rift between us."

"I know Georg, but at least for the moment, don't put it away," she took his hand and looked pleadingly into his eyes. "Please?"

"Very well," Georg said in response to her heartfelt request. He put the photograph down, but not where it had been on his desk, but instead he placed it along side the photographs of the children on the bureau.

Looking again at all the photographs of the children, Maria suddenly sighed and walked away from where they were into the center of the room. Getting the feeling like she had something on her mind that was bothering her, Georg asked "Maria, is there something wrong?"

"Oh, I don't know. The children. I love them so much, I just hope they will be happy with the news that we are to be married." She said, with a concerned expression on her face.

Georg walked up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Maria, you have nothing to worry about. They missed you so much while you were gone." He paused. "You know, they tried to visit you at the Abbey today."

"Really?" Maria asked, turning to face him. "I didn't know. No one told me they had come. Are you sure? How do you now they were there?"

"Well, they disappeared for several hours this afternoon and then made up some ridiculous story about blue strawberries to cover up where they had been. I knew that the only reason they didn't actually tell me that they tried to see you was that they thought I would be mad at them." Georg explained.

"Oh," was all Maria could answer.

"Yes," Georg continued, "I'm afraid that my announcement this morning of the engagement to Elsa didn't go down that well, in fact it was a disaster. I had told them to run along, but I had no idea until later that they would try and see you."

"A disaster? You mean the children don't want a new mother?" Maria asked.

"No, the children just didn't want _Elsa_ to be their new mother. Seeing their reactions to the news that I was to marry Elsa was the first thing that showed me that our engagement was a grave mistake. The second thing, of course, was seeing you again. I knew as soon as I saw you standing there upon your return that I loved you and that I was being dishonest and unfair to both you and Elsa unless I admitted that."

He paused. "Maria, I'm sorry that I caused you pain this afternoon." She nodded in acceptance of his apology, slight tears forming in her eyes.

"But, Maria, as far as the children go, I'm sure they will be thrilled that you are to be their new mother. They adore you." He told her and then he leant forward and whispered in her ear "As do I."

Maria felt his hot breath on her neck, sending shivers down her spine. She then felt his lips as he kissed her ear and he proceeded to place a trail of kisses down her neck. The sensation of his kisses almost caused her legs to collapse from underneath her. Maria closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side to give him better access and he continued to kiss her neck, giving her goose bumps.

Almost instinctively, she placed her arms around his neck and looked up into his eyes that were full of passion for her.

"Maria…" he murmured before pulling her close to him and claiming her lips with his own. They stood there with their arms around each other kissing for what seemed like an age when suddenly there was a sharp knock at the door.

"Oh my!" exclaimed Maria, jumping back from Georg with a start.

Georg gave her an apologetic half smile and went to open the door. Maria turned her back away from the door in order to compose herself and get her breathing back under control. She could hear Georg opening the door and Max's voice coming from the other side.

"Georg, what on earth is going on? I just got back from driving Elsa to the station. She was going back to Vienna. She wouldn't tell me anything except the two of you had called off your engagement." Max then barged past Georg into the study still talking. "Georg, would you care to explain…."

Max suddenly stopped short upon seeing Maria standing in the center of the room. He just stared at her, his mouth wide open, struck speechless.

"Max, yes please do come in." Georg said to him with mild amusement, closing the study door behind him.

Maria didn't know quite what to say so she just stood there, glancing towards Georg for help.

Max stood looking from Georg to Maria and back again, finally found his voice. "Well... Georg, this explains a lot."

"Max," began Georg, "Yes, it's true. I have broken off my engagement with Elsa. I was unable to continue going forth into a marriage with her as I realized that I was not in love with her." Georg paused, "Max, I'm in love with Maria and we are to be married instead."

There was an uncomfortable few moments of silence while Max contemplated what Georg had just told him. He finally spoke.

"Well Georg, I can't say I'm surprised really. I mean, I had wondered how long it would take you to finally admit your feelings to the young Fraulein here."

With that, Max walked over to Maria, who was a little stunned by his admission, and took her hand and kissed it.

"Congratulations, my dear," he told her "I'm sure you will make Georg and the children very happy."

"Thank you Herr Detweiller." Maria replied, still surprised.

"Please, do call me Max, I mean we are now practically family!" Max laughed before turning to Georg. "Ah… Georg, would you mind if I had a few words with you in private?"

"Of course Max," Georg replied. Looking at Maria, he said "Ah, Maria, would you mind just giving us a few moments?"

"Certainly, I'll just take these back to the kitchen." Maria said, picking up the two half drunk cups of cocoa. She headed to the door giving the two men one finally glance before she closed the door gently and went to the kitchen.

Max waited a few moments to make sure that Maria was gone before he spoke.

"Georg, how could you treat Elsa like that? She didn't say anything, of course, but I could tell she was very upset and that you hurt her a great deal."

"Max," Georg began running his hands through his hair, "you know I never intended… well I never wanted to… Oh Max, I fell in love with Maria. I couldn't, in good faith to all involved, enter into a marriage with Elsa, knowing that I loved someone else. The last thing I ever wanted was to hurt Elsa. I do care for her a great deal for her and there was a time that I believed that I could have married her. But then Maria came and changed everything. She changed my relationship with the children, changed me, how I viewed life and love. Marriage is not something to be trifled with. I had to be sure that I was marrying the right woman, the woman who will mother to my children, the woman who I love and that woman is Maria."

Max looked at him, carefully considering his next words. "I know Georg," he said quietly, "I know. I do hope you will be happy."

"Thank you Max" replied Georg and the two men shook hands. Georg then walked over to the small table on the other side of the desk and opened a bottle of wine. He inclined his head towards Max who nodded, indicating he wanted a drink too so Georg poured two glasses.

"So… Georg," Max started to say, accepting the drink from Georg and sitting down upon the leather lounge, "What happens now?"

"Well, Maria and I will tell the children on our engagement in the morning." Georg said sitting down next to Max on the leather lounge. "We'll arrange a small, quiet ceremony and then I'll whisk Maria off for a very long and _very_ private honeymoon." He laughed wickedly with a bit of a smirk.

"Ooo, Georg, you are wicked aren't you?" Max chuckled back.

Meanwhile, Maria had finished washing up the cups in the kitchen. It hadn't taken very long and she sat down at the kitchen table, wondering what to do next. Clearly Max wanted to speak with Georg, but for how long? She didn't want to return too early to the study, but also didn't want to linger too long in the kitchen and Georg wonder where she was.

After waiting a few minutes, she decided to head back towards Georg's study. As she approached the door, she noticed that it was just slightly ajar. Frowning as she thought she had closed it behind her, she heard voices coming from within. She was about to head back down the corridor and return later as clearly the two men were still talking when she heard Georg say "… and then I'll whisk Maria off for a very long and _very_ private honeymoon." Lots of laughter followed his comment.

Maria blushed at the thought of her honeymoon with Georg. They had only been engaged an hour or so and until that moment, Maria hadn't given any thought to what happens _after_ the wedding. The thought of being along with Georg on their honeymoon made her a little nervous but at the same time very excited. The kisses they had shared just that night were passionate and lovely. She never knew that being kissed by a man could be so wonderful! While she did feel a little overwhelmed, she was also curious to explore these new experiences she was sharing with Georg.

Realizing that she was eavesdropping on Georg's conversation with Max, she started to turn to go, but when Max spoke next she felt compelled to stay and listen to the conversation.

"But seriously, don't you think you are going about this the wrong way?" Maria heard Max ask.

"What do you mean Max?" Georg replied.

"Well, don't you think those plans may, ah, raise a few eyebrows?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure I follow." Georg said. "I mean, if you are worried about gossip, you know I don't give a damn what people say about me."

"Yes, but what about Maria?" Max asked.

"Maria? What about her? She has done nothing wrong to warrant any gossip."

"Of course not Georg." Max told him. "But think about it. You have been essentially courting Elsa for the good part of a year. You bring her here to introduce her to your children, seemingly with the intent of a future marriage. You then throw her a lavish party to introduce her to all of your friends and acquaintances. Now suddenly, she is back in Vienna and you are to marry the governess. What do you _think_ people are going to think?"

Georg was silent for a few moments before saying "So, you think people will believe the only reason I am marrying Maria is that I, ah, how would you put it?... ah, interfered with her?"

Max raised his eyebrows. "Well…"

Georg continued, his temper starting to rise. "You mean to tell me that no one would believe that Maria and I are in love?"

Max laughed. "Georg, calm down. Any fool, even with his eyes closed, would know that you and Maria are in love the moment they saw you together. But the fact is though, society gossips aren't interested in the truth, they are just interested in the latest piece of juicy gossip, so to speak. You put yourself in a position for people to talk, and well… they will talk."

"Don't you think it makes any difference that Maria was a postulant?" Georg asked, "and that those kind of insinuations are likely to be wrong?"

"You would think that would make a difference." Max replied. "But if I know gossips, and I do, those kind of details would either be forgotten or just make the story just more scandalous and juicy."

Georg sighed in frustration. "As I said before, I don't care what people say about me, but I care about what they say about Maria. What do you suggest Max?"

Max thought for a moment. "Well, firstly, fill the house with chaperones quickly so there would be no questions of a scandal. Then take a reasonable length of time for your engagement, say 2 months or so, and then make the wedding public, very public. By having a small quiet wedding ceremony, people are likely to think you are hiding something. So throw the biggest, grandest wedding in all of Salzburg!"

Georg groaned. "Ah Max, you know how much I hate those big events, but I guess you're right. A big, grand, extravagant wedding it is then."

"Good. I think you are doing the right thing." Max said standing up and placing his now empty glass on Georg's desk. "But for now, I'm heading off to bed. I'm sure Maria will be back soon and you two will have a lot to discuss. Now, ah, I'm assuming I can trust you _not_ to need a chaperone tonight, right Georg?"

"Yes Max, you _can_ trust me. Alright, shoo!" Georg chuckled as he made a hand gesture shooing Max off to bed.

On the other side of the study door, Maria was still listening to the two men's conversation. She suddenly realized her eavesdropping was about to be discovered. Panicking, she looked around for somewhere to hide. Before she could move anywhere, the door opened to reveal both Max and Georg standing there. Instantly, Maria's hand flew to her mouth as she was revealed. It was obvious she had been listening to their conversation. Max looked at her amused, while the expression on Georg's face was unreadable.

Silence followed before Max finally spoke. "Ah yes, I was _just_ leaving." Max walked up Maria, taking her hand and kissing it. "Goodnight my dear. Georg." He nodded and walked past Maria down the corridor and off to bed.

Maria observed Georg, whose expression was now stern. She thought back to her first day at the villa when he had discovered her in the ballroom. Georg ushered her into the room and closed the door behind her. Maria's heart started to beat wildly and she fought to explain her actions.

"Oh, I was just… I mean I…" she stammered.

"How much did you hear?" Georg asked, his tone was sharp, but surprisingly was not as severe as she had expected.

Maria let out the breath that she had been holding. "Honestly, most of it. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I really didn't, I…" she stammered.

Georg put his hand up to silence her. "Maria," he said gently. "It's alright, I'm not mad really."

"Really?" Maria was surprised. She really had thought he was angry with her, but now felt very thankful that he was not.

"No, not mad." He put his arm out towards her, taking her hand and drawing her close towards him, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "In fact, I'm actually glad you heard what we were speaking about, it makes explaining things a little easier. But darling," he continued with a amused smile, "maybe next time you are about to overhear a conversation, it would be a better idea to make your presence known rather than hide in the corridor."

"Oh." Maria softly replied, blushing slightly. She really was relieved that Georg was not angry, but she started to think back on the conversation that she had just overheard. _Would people really start gossiping about them?_ She thought feeling worried. She trusted Georg completely to not compromise her virtue before the wedding. After spending so many years at the Abbey where honesty was a value that was upheld, she was horrified that some people may think that something untoward would occur between her and Georg before they were married.

"Maria?" Georg's voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts. She had been lost in thought for some time so she hadn't realized that Georg had been speaking to her.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" she asked.

"I was just saying I think we should plan the wedding for around 2 months time. Max suggested a large wedding, but we don't have to have a large ceremony if you don't want to." Georg paused seeing her stare back at him blankly. "Darling, is there something wrong? You look upset. You aren't changing your mind about marrying me are you?" He asked, suddenly quite concerned.

"Oh no! Georg, of course I haven't changed my mind. I don't care whether we have a small or large ceremony, just as long as we marry." Maria quickly replied to reassure him of her feelings towards him. "I wasn't thinking about that at all. I was thinking about… well, about something that Herr Det…, I mean Max was speaking to you about." Maria pulled away from his arms and began to pace the room.

"Do you really think people will gossip about us?" she asked, turning to him.

"I don't know Maria," Georg sighed, and he approached her to take her hand. "But unfortunately, it is highly possible so we should take the necessary precautions to ensure that no nasty rumors are spread about you, about us!" he continued grimly as he put his arm around her.

Maria nodded resting her head on his shoulder. "So, what do we do?"

"Well, I have some close friends that I know were disappointed not to be able to attend the party the other day. I can telephone them in the morning to ask them to stay for a while at the villa to be chaperones. While I have no doubt that Max is an _excellent_ chaperone, it would be good to have as many people stay as possible." Maria nodded in agreement as Georg continued. "Also, would you like to invite one of the sisters from the Abbey to come and stay as well? A presence from Nonnberg would also help squash any rumors that may be started."

"Oh, I'm sure that the Reverend Mother would agree to that, but I just hope that she _doesn't_ send Sister Berthe!" Maria laughed.

"Alright, I'll telephone the Reverend Mother in the morning to make the necessary arrangements. I, of course, will also ask her permission for your hand Maria, after all, she has been your guardian for the past years." He told her smiling.

"Georg, I would really like to, I mean, would you mind if we married at the  
Abbey? I would mean a lot to me." Maria asked.

"Of course, my love. I would like nothing better. I'll talk to the Reverend Mother about that as well tomorrow." Georg replied, before giving Maria a soft kiss. "Now enough talk about weddings. There will be plenty of time for wedding preparations over the next few weeks."

Georg motioned for Maria to sit down with him. She sank down into the comfort of the leather lounge, suddenly feeling and looking very weary. As Georg sat down next to her, he glanced at the clock. It was almost 1 am.

"It's late and you're tired I see." Georg commented looking at her.

"Yes, I am." Maria replied. "It has been a long day in so many ways."

"It has been." Georg agreed. "You should go up to bed."

"I will, but soon. It has just been such a lovely night together. I just don't want it to end." She said trying to hide a yawn. "I suppose we won't get this kind of opportunity to be alone like this once we are surrounded by chaperones will we?"

"No, we won't." said Georg, placing his arm around her drawing her close to him. Maria responded by resting her head upon his shoulder while he gently stroked her hand.

They sat there in a comfortable silence, enjoying being in each other's company. After a few minutes, Georg turned his head to look at Maria and was only half surprised to see that she had fallen asleep. She looked so peaceful and his heart filled with love for her. As he shifted himself to be able to look at her better, she stirred but did not wake.

Gazing down at her sleeping form, Georg realized that it had been a very long time since a woman had fallen asleep in his arms. Not since Agathe became ill had he had the privilege of seeing a woman sleep next to him. He reflected on how he used to watch Agathe sleep. He had loved and cherished her so much, and was completely devastated when she had died, shutting out everything that had reminded him of the love that he had lost.

Never would he have believed that he would have a second change at love. But then Maria came into his life. She had infuriated him, disobeyed him and challenged him. But then she had reunited him with his children and brought music and life back into the house. She had opened his eyes to love again, something he had never thought would happen, and now here she was, asleep in his arms.

Although it would still be several months before they would make their marriage vows to each other, he silently promised to Maria at that moment to always love and cherish her for the rest of his days, not matter what the future held for them both.

Bending down, Georg kissed Maria gently on the forehand and taking care not to wake her, he carefully picked her up and carried her out of his study and up to her room. Placing her on the bed and covering her with a blanket, he gave her one final kiss and whispered, "Goodnight Maria. Until the morning, my love."

With that, he left her room, closing the door behind him. Smiling to himself as for the first time in a long time, he was looking forward to what the new day would bring.


End file.
